Hindu Law

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HINDU LAW
NAME : NIJ PATEL
GROUP : 20LL10A

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TOPICS
Introduction of Indian Law
1.Classical Hindu Law
2. Anglo-Hindu Law
3. Modern Hindu Law Hindu Law in different Countries
Sources of Hindu Law
A. Ancient Sources
B.Modern Sources
Conlusion

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INTRODUCTION
Hindu law, as a historical term, refers to the code of laws applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs in British India.
• Hindu Law is a body of principles or rules called 'Dharma'. It lays down the laws which regulated Hindu nationals, social,
family and individual obligations Dharma are considered as the law in the Hindu philosophy. ... Hindu philosophy is based on
dharmasastra and these dharmasastras has been taken as a tool for justice.
Hindu law is divided in to 3 categories:
1.Classical Hindu Law
2. Anglo-Hindu Law
3. Modern Hindu Law Hindu Law in different Countries

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1.CLASSICAL HINDU LAW
John Mayne, in 1910, wrote that the classical Hindu law has the
oldest pedigree of any known system of jurisprudence.
The term "Hindu law" is a colonial construction, and emerged
when the colonial rule arrived in South Asia, and when in 1772
it was decided by British colonial officials in consultation with
Mughal rulers, that European common law system would not be
implemented in India, that Hindus of India would be ruled
under their "Hindu law" and Muslims of India would be ruled
under sharia (Muslim law).
However, Hindu law was neither mentioned, nor in use, nor
codified, during the 600 years of Islamic rule of India.

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2. ANGLO-HINDU LAW
• It has 2 phases:
• 1.(1772-1864)
• The early period of Anglo-Hindu Law (1772–1828) was structured along the lines of
Muslim law practice. It included the extracted portions of law from one Dharmaśāstra by
British colonial government appointed scholars (especially Jones, Henry Thomas
Colebrooke, Sutherland, and Borrodaile) in a manner similar to Islamic al-Hidaya and
Fatawa-i Alamgiri. It also included the use of court pandits in British courts to aid British
judges in interpreting Shastras just like Qadis (Maulavis) for interpreting the Islamic law.
• 2.(1864-1947)
• In 1864, after the East India Company was dissolved and India became a formal part
of the British Empire, Anglo-Hindu law entered into a second phase (1864–1947), one in
which British colonial courts in India relied less on the Muslim Qadis and Hindu Pandits fo
determining the respective religious laws, and relied more on a written law.

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3. MODERN HINDU LAW
• Legal recognition to civil marriage in Hindu society & inter-faith marriage
India
• Legal recognition to inter-caste marriage, abolition of polygamy & introdu
of the concept of divorce in Hindu society.
• Mandatory enforcement of the protection of civil rights of SC and ST peop
by The Untouchability (Offenses) Act (1955)
• Legal recognition to adoption of Hindu children outside the family, commun
caste of the adopter.
• Hindu Marriage Act (1955)
• Hindu Succession Act (1956)

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COUNTRIES FOLLOWING INDIAN LAW
• NEPAL
• SRI LANKA
• BANGLADESH
• INDONESIA

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SOURCES OF THE HINDU LAW
• Sources of Hindu law can be divided into ancient sources and modern
sources.
A. Ancient Sources:
• Shruti: Shruti means to hear, it is derived from the word “shur” which
means to hear. Shrutis are considered to be the major source of Hindu
law. Another term for Shruti is Veda. according to Hindu law, there
are four Vedas namely, Rigveda, Samveda, Yajurveda, Atharveda.
The brahmins used to pronounce what is written in these Vedas to the
people. Since brahmins were considered to be knowledgeable people
whatever they said was of supreme importance and it was considered
to be the law of the land, therefore shrutis contain what is written and
pronounced by the brahmins. Brahmins also tell us about the duties
that the individual has to follow and how to perform these duties. The
Upanishads contain the essence of these duties.

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• Smriti :Smriti is derived from “smri” which means to
remember. Smrtis are those parts of shrutis which the
sages forgot to tell in their original form and therefore
wrote down in the language which they were familiar with,
therefore shrutis are considered to be the basis of smritis.
There are 2 kinds of smritis first is Dharmasastras and the
other is Dharmasutras. Dharmasastras contains the rules
regarding the moral code of conduct for Hindus, whereas
Dharmasutras contains the rules regarding government,
caste, the relationship between people, economic affairs,
eating habits, etc. There are many smritis that one can not
count but the two famous smritis are Yajnavalkya smriti
and manusmriti. Manusmriti is also considered to the first
law book written by Manu.

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Coustom:Customs are the most important and the oldest form of
lawmaking, customs mean the traditions, practices, activities,
that people have been following for generations and overtime
recognized as law. Indian law has recognized 3 types of
custom namely:
Local customs- These are the customs that are prevalent in a
particular local area.
Class customs- These are the customs that are prevalent
amongst a particular class.
Family customs- These are the customs that are binding on the
members of the family.
Digests and Commentaries: Digests contain the important
aspects of all the smritis and discussed their reconciling and
contradictions

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B. Modern Sources:
• Legislation: The legislation means the acts of the
parliament, various Acts were passed by the legislature
such as the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, Hindu
Successsion Act, 1956, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Hindu
Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956.
• Justice Equity and Good Consciousness: In cases where
there was no proper law to settle the disputes nor there
was an existing law, then the judges used to give
judgments according to the concept of Justice Equity and
Good Consciousness.

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• Precedents: After the establishment of British rule, courts
were established and the hierarchy was introduced.

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CONLUSION
• Conclusion. Hindu Law is a law which is considered to be of divine nature as it is believed
that it has been developed on the words of god, theories given by god.
• Hindu Law of Marriage Marriage is a union with a commitment to pursue Dharma, Artha
(Property ) and Kama (physical desires) together. Is Hindu marriage.
• Hindu Law of Marriage Marriage is a union with a commitment to pursue Dharma, Artha
(Property ) and Kama (physical desires) together. Is Hindu marriage.